Integrating Social Resilience in Five Long Island Communities for Post Sandy Reconstruction, Recovery and Planning Efforts

While climate change, resilience, and adaptation have been incorporated into the American lexicon, the clear role of public health in these efforts, beyond emergency preparedness and service response remains unclear.  There is great opportunity for the social science embeded in existing public health strategies to inform climate change adaptation responses that focus on landscape atributes an/or limite social resilience to physical infrastructure related to health and social services.  

As part of New York Rising-New York State's post-Sandy reconstruction, recovery and planning efforts, HealthxDesign is a sub-contractor for one of only 10 teams working in over 50 communities across New York States. In addition to providing recommendations for health and social service needs, HealthxDesign has developed a framework for health and social resilience that focuses on: harm reduction among affected populations, reducing overall community vulnerability and strenghten adaptive capacity, epecially opportunities for social capital through reconsruction and planning efforts. We present an operational definition for vulnerability in the context of climate change adaptation--articulating how existing social vulnerabilities relate to those specific or compounded by climate change risk.  The session will also share key findings of the needs and opportunities assessement, as well as recommendations that were made for strengthening response, recovery, preparedness, and adaptive capacity for ensuring resilience in future events.  The model developed in New York demonstrates innovation in its close integration wiith the planning, engeinnering, and landscape architecture strategies The findings will be publically shared in March and will be ready for dissemination by the time of APHA.